Monday, April 6, 2009

A New Genetic Theory of Austism and Schizophrenia

http://seminaryblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/tug-o-war.jpg

Could a tug of war between mothers' and fathers' genetic material lead to Autism and Schizophrenia?

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/11/health/research/11brain.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=a%20novel%20theory%20of%20mental%20disorders&st=cse

3 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  2. This theory reminds me of studies on facial preference that are interpreted by some as an apologetic for racism; although, the authors of such studies would never use those terms. I am also thinking about justifications for why boys score better in math and science, which has to be reconsidered because of international studies and recent research that say standardized test scores are evening out. I believe that posing a theory that distinguishes between the innate capabilities between males and females can limit our understanding of how the human brain works, even with a biological or neurological basis, and so I am skeptical about how creative this theory is. How accurately is the research on this subject portrayed by the popular media? Especially considering it as a theory posed by "outsiders to the field of behavior genetics."

    ReplyDelete
  3. I found this article a little confusing because I don’t really see how autism and schizophrenia can be considered as opposite ends of the same spectrum. I hope looking at the studies behind this can clarify this a bit.

    ReplyDelete